The ultimate aim of the proposed research is to understand the mechanisms by which nuclear DNA-containing viruses usurp the cellular functions of animal cells and by which the synthesis of viral components is regulated. More specifically, this research project is designed primarily (1) to identify the function of the proteins specified by herpesviruses and to analyze the mechanism leading to the assembly into viral substructures and mature particles; (2) to elucidate the factors controlling transcription and translation of cellular and viral genomes in virus-infected cells.